Blue Cat Blues
Blue Cat Blues is a 1956 one-reel animated Tom and Jerry cartoon directed and produced by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera with music by Scott Bradley. It was released on November 16, 1956 by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was also produced in CinemaScope. Plot A depressed Tom sits on a railroad bridge, bent on suicide. Watching from overhead, Jerry laments his old friend's state and recalls the events leading up to Tom's depression. Tom and Jerry have been inseparable until Tom falls in love with a beautiful white female cat. The white cat initially reciprocates Tom's affections, but, as Jerry suspects, proves herself to be a gold digger when she leaves Tom for the much wealthier Butch. Jerry urges Tom to forget about the white cat, but Tom ignores Jerry's advice. He pushes himself and his finances to beyond absurd lengths to buy gifts to try to win back his ex-girlfriend. However, every heartfelt, though paltry, gift that Tom presents to the white cat to impress her is outrageously and excessively outdone by Mr. Butch. Heartbroken, penniless, and hopelessly in debt, Tom drowns his sorrows in milk as Jerry's pleas for him to stop are rebuffed. Tom tries to literally let himself go down the gutter, but Jerry rescues him. As Jerry resuscitates Tom, they see Mr. Butch and the white cat driving by in Mr. Butch's coupe, newly married and embarking on their honeymoon. Jerry breaks from the sad story to think about his own girlfriend, Toots. He is reveling in her love for and faithfulness to him until he sees her riding by with another mouse, just married and going on their honeymoon. Jerry, now dejected, joins Tom on the railroad tracks; the whistle of an oncoming train grows louder as the cartoon fades out. Why It Sucks # Plot holes. # Bad design for female kitty and mouse. # A very bad ending, where Tom and Jerry commit suicide by letting a train run over them on railroad tracks because of the losses of their girlfriends. Watch it if you dare. # '''Misleading Title: '''None of the blue cats. # No gore for this cartoon. The Only Redeeming Qualities # The animation quality is passable for the period. # Jerry narrating the episode is clever, since he (along with Tom) normally doesn't speak. # William Hanna and Joseph Barbera no longer used similar dark themes in future Tom and Jerry cartoons after this one. # It is thankfully hardly ever shown on television out of concerns that it would upset young children. # At least it is not as bad as most off The Gene Deitch Era Which gave us "Down and Outing", "High Steaks", and "Sorry Safari". Trivia * The first cartoon where we hear Jerry speak throughout, but only in narration form. * The implied suicide in this short film has made various American TV networks hesitant to air it on TV. * Due to the last scene of the short which it is implied that Tom and Jerry decided to commit suicide by waiting for a train to run them over and killing them, a Internet creepypasta was created stating that Blue Cat Blues was the final Tom and Jerry animated short. * Since Jerry Mouse is telling the story of Blue Cat Blues through inner monologue, the short does not break the "cardinal rule" of Tom or Jerry physically speaking in their cartoons. * The score for this cartoon was featured on the audio CD "Tom & Jerry & Tex Avery Too!". * Although thought to be the final short , this is simply not the case. Prime examples would be "Tot Watchers", the actual final short, was released in 58 and "Timid Tabby", was released in 1957. In a nutshell, many shorts were released after this one. Videos Category:Tom and Jerry Films Category:Torture Cartoons Category:MGM Films Category:American films Category:Banned Cartoons Category:Misleading cartoons